Music and its influence on fashion: PART 3

In the final part of the Music and its influence on fashion series we hit the 90s and the noughties. Grunge and platform heels at the ready peeps!

DECADE: Early 90s

BANDS: Nirvana, Pearl Jam

TREND: Grunge

CLOTHES: Plaid, ripped jeans/shirts, converse shoes.

=We couldn’t mention the 90s grunge trend without mentioning Nirvana, the band who initiated the trend.  Back in 1991 they brought the grunge look all the way from Seattle to the UK where it quickly became a popular fad because of music.  It is a trend which continues to inspire the youth of today with MK Olsen and Taylor Momsen both rocking the look.

DECADE: 1990s

BANDS: Oasis, Blur, Suede, Pulp, Supergrass, Verve

TREND: Cool Britannia

CLOTHES: Back to the 60s mod look; parkas and suits.

=Cool Britannia, the look favoured by the likes of Oasis, Blur and Verve whose style and feuds were almost as well known as their music.  Liam Gallagher was well-known for channelling John Lennon’s mod look style.

DECADE: 1990s

BANDS: Spice Girls, All Saints

TREND: Bubblegum pop Vs Hip Hop grunge

CLOTHES:

-Spice Girls: bright colours, mini dresses & skirts, crop tops, platform shoes & boots, skimpy bustier tops, halter tops, lycra, pedal pushers, sequins

-All Saints: khaki, black, brown, cargo pants,bandanas, bomber jackets, cargo jackets, army wear, tank tops & striped tops, hoodies, baggy jeans, puffy jackets.

=Ahhh the good old Spice Girls vs All Saints days!  Girl band rivalry can be traced back to these two bands who had two very separate ideas of style.  So which camp did you belong to; bubblegum or hip hop grunge?

DECADE: Late 90s-2000s

BANDS: Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian, Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines

TREND: Indie Rock

CLOTHES: Skinny black jeans, tanks tops, tees, plaid/tartan shirts, military boots, converse shoes, the ‘Sergent Pepper’ look.

=Men in skinny jeans, you either love it, or hate it but be aware, this look is here to stay.

DECADE: 2000s

BANDS: Bullet for my Valentine, The Prodigy

TREND: Emo

CLOTHES: BLACK.  Hoodies, baggy trousers, black boots, converse, black eye-liner, band tees.

=Another trend which you will either embrace or run the opposite way down the street from.  This is one trend which involves serious commitment, and a lot of black.

DECADE: 2000s

BANDS: N-Dubz, Dizzee Rascal

TREND: Grime

CLOTHES: Low-slung, low crotch trousers, vest top or sporty jersey, mini skirt, and BLING of course.

=Another Marmite trend which has your granny shouting at you to pull those trousers up.  Not a trend for the body conscious or fainthearted.

 

DECADE: 2010

BANDS: Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Paloma Faith, Florence & the Machine,

TREND: Retro

CLOTHES: Think 50s mixed with 20s, 60s & 70s with a lil bit of 80s madness: these fashionistas know how to work their decades!

=I’m loving the current retro trend with artists mixing up their fashion decades.  Paloma Faith can always be relied upon to gives a lil bit of fashion craziness will Duffy gives us some old school retro glamour, LOVES.

Music & its influence on fashion: Decade by decade PART 2

The second part of the Music and its influence on fashion series sees us jumping to the 1970s-1980s period. Cone-shaped bras at the ready people

 

DECADE: 1970s

BANDS: The Sex Pistols, Ramones, The Clash

TREND: Punk Rock

CLOTHES: Leather, rubber & vinyl clothing, plaid/tartan, safety pins/razor blades, bin liner dresses, slogan tees, ripped shirts, bleached/ripped clothes, punk hair.

=The Sex Pistol’s promoter Malcom McClaren and fashion royalty Vivienne Westwood created the original punk look with their shop ‘Let it Rock’.  The look consisted of black leather with ripped shirts with provocative slogans splashed over them, ripped and bleached clothes, spiked brightly dyed hair and black makeup – a look which continued into the early 90s and still sported by North London’s Camden residents.

DECADE: 1970s

BANDS: The Bee Gees

TREND: Disco

CLOTHES: Hot pants, jumpsuits, Gold lame, spandex tops, leopard print, halternecks, white suits (which glowed in the UV disco lights), shiny sheen material, platform shoes.

=One of the most memorable trends music had given us.  Beginning in the 1970s, it was memorable for its hot pants look and spandex tops, gold lame and white clothes that glowed in the UV lights of the nightclubs.  Studio 54 is all its glory!

DECADE: 1970s-80s

BANDS: The Runaways, The Police,

TREND: New Wave

CLOTHES: Rock but more commercial (like their music).  These bands were the first onslaught which lead to the next major trend: New Romantics.

=The New Wave saw a move from the punk rock look and music into a more commercial route, both musically and style-wise with the bands preferring a more toned down and commercial look which would appeal more to the audiences.

DECADE: 1980s

BANDS: Eurythmitics, Duran Duran, Spandeau Ballet, Adam and the Ants

TREND: New Romantics

CLOTHES: Synthpop movement which originated from Bowie.  Pirate outfits and puffy shirts a la Westwood again.

=The 80s was the period full of the extreme; extreme hair, makeup, shoulders, colour, everything was big and to the extreme and it all was encapsulated here with this trend.

DECADE: 1980s

BANDS: Queen, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Van Halen

TREND: Pop Metal

CLOTHES: Teased hair, ripped jeans, neon clothing.

=How can we mention the 80s and not make note of the Jon Bon Jovi hair!  Thee look of the 80s. Period.

DECADE: 1980s

BANDS: Madonna, Michael Jackson, Wham, Culture Club

TREND: The MTV Effect

CLOTHES: Fingerless gloves, frizzy crimped hair, mesh, headbands, ballerina skirts, studs, blazer/military jackets, prom dresses, white.

=Madonna and Michael Jackson are the two biggest influences in both the music and fashion industries so we had to include them.  Madonna, the queen of the trendsetters, came on the scene in the 1980s and changed the way young girls dressed forever with her headbands, ballerina skirts, net spandex tops, prom dresses, pearls and huge earrings.  With the birth of MTV and music videos having a larger platform, fashion could be taken and replicated by the audience.

Music & its influence on fashion: Decade by decade PART 1

Madonna and that cone-shaped corset, Michael Jackson and the black jeans with white socks look, Britney and the school uniform, Lady Gaga and her…well just Lady Gaga.  Fashion has always been an outlet for musicians to express themselves as an artist.  Nowadays we, the consumer don’t just want to know what their new song is about, but what outfit they wore to an awards ceremony, event or music video.

Music is not just an inspiration for fashion designers but also the inspiration for the soundtrack motivating the show audience and giving each of their catwalk shows a distinct style and identity.  Who could forget Lily Allen singing in a barn at Chanel’s S/S 10 show, Marc Jacobs use of ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ bringing a tear to everyone’s eye and well, the music at every single Alexander McQueen show?

Fashion trends are deep-rooted in music and can be traced back to the days of The King himself, Elvis Presley and his fighter pilot look with customary aviator jacket (a trend once again ‘in’ this season).  So we here at NOIR decided it was about time to discuss how British music has influenced the fashion industry.  So let us start way back in the swinging 1960s to early 1970s.

DECADE: 1960s

BANDS: The Beatles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Who

TREND: Teddy Boy and Mod subcultures

CLOTHES: Saville Row; tailored suits topped with anoraks.

=From the start of the 1960s, bands like The Beatles, Stones, Kinks and The Who revitalised British pop.  Musicians often pioneered alternative ways of dressing with tailored suits topped with parkas and Mary Quant inventing the mini-skirt which was a major trend this decade.  The Teddy Boy subculture saw young men inspired by dandies of the Edwardian period; drape jackets, velvet trim collars, high-waisted drainpipe trousers.  This trend often re-emerges, with bands like Oasis and Blur being influenced by their fashion style as well as their music.

DECADE: 1968-1970S

BANDS: The Beatles, The Who, The Small Faces, The Kinks, The Beach Boys

TREND: Androgynous hippy movement

CLOTHES: A la Woodstock; headbands, bell bottom trousers, sandals, barefoot, tie-dye, batik patterns and paisley prints.

=The hippy movement later in the decade exerted a strong influence on UK fashion and the bohemian look is still favoured today with the likes of Sienna Miller, Blake Lively and Ashley Olsen all still embracing the look.

DECADE: Late 60s-early 70s

BANDS: David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Queen

TREND: Glam Rock

CLOTHES: Outrageous clothes, make-up and hair, platform-soled boots.

=Ziggy Stardust. Need I say more?

Look out for PART 2…..